How to Become a Mealtime Match Maker for your Small Fry
Forget the flowers, have your Small Fries stop and smell the basil!
I believe involving your kids in the cooking process is paramount to overcoming new and unfamiliar foods. I can't tell you how many times a child will start cooking camp, and a parent will review what we are making for the day and will inevitably say, "Oh, Amy doesn't eat vegetables" or "Oh, he won't like egg fried rice"- basically giving their pint-sized dictators a preloaded prejudice against our daily fare (Don't worry, we anticipate this, and redirect quickly!). Or, my personal favorite, when a child says angelically, "Oh, I'm allergic to onions" to which we reply, "Hmm, here is your list of food allergies, and your parents didn’t mark any for you, it looks like we will be diving into the onions today!”
Chopping up all sorts of colorful veggies for our Korean Beef Tacos with carmelized Kimchi
Now, it’s probably true that these kids don’t eat vegetables at home, so I understand why their parents react the way they do when they see we are using onions in a recipe. At home, I bet putting a plate of foreign food offerings in front of their small fry and expecting them to taste and try with gusto at home has not gone well I believe it’s akin to expecting your daughter to fall in love the first time she goes out for a blind date. How can we expect our kids to taste foods that are unfamiliar without the same hesitance?
This Small Fry asked to taste raw garlic during class!
Unfamiliar ingredients (and particularly vegetables of all kinds and varieties) are engrained in kid's DNA to be naturally suspect. It's been my experience that by engaging kids in the cooking process to see, smell, chop, and taste new ingredients, they somehow become less foreboding. Letting your child chop up the red bell pepper, and then experience how vibrant they metamorphose in a pan of hot oil for fajitas. When they can smell and survey the sizzling deliciousness of their own creation is when the magic happens. When a child can take the time to slice a red bell pepper and then watch it come alive before their very eyes, they want to know how it will turn out. How did my creation taste? Letting your child investigate, engage, and "get to know" ingredients you want them to become familiar with is like culinary dating; it takes time and patience. I'd never expect a child to sit down at my dinner table which is categorically deemed "picky" and serve him a bowl of yellow curry. The idea is that the yellow curry and the child haven’t had a chance to have a first date with one another. Kids need time, and active participation in the kitchen to feel comfortable getting to know new foods.
Telling your child they should sample a bell pepper because it has more vitamin C than an orange (which is true!) is like getting your teenage daughter to go on a blind date with the neighbor’s son because their parents have a well-diversified 401k. “No, thank you!”
Carmelizing Kimchi.... "Hmm, I wonder how it will taste?"
The same principles of why we are attracted to other people, I believe read true in cooking. I never lead with the idea that vegetables are "nutritious" as a primary way to get them excited to try a new food. Setting the scene to allow a natural connection or “spark” to occur in the kitchen will far outweigh any logical approach to why your child will try a new food. Food is emotional, and when a child can organically connect to the sensory process of cooking, the unfamiliar becomes safer and intimate.
Need some help getting started being your Small Fries Mealtime Matchmaker? Here are a few easy ideas to get your family started:
Let your Small Fry pick out a new fruit or vegetable at the grocery store that looks interesting, and use it in a recipe.
Pull out your favorite cookbook with great pictures (or let your child scroll through your favorite food blogger's website!) and let them choose a dish that looks yummy that would be appropriate for dinner. (here are my favorite recipe bloggers Half Baked Harvest, The Modern Proper, Damn Delicious, Weelicious, Super Healthy Kids.
Choose one day per week (Sundays are a great option) to involve your Small Fries in the cooking process.
During the week, ask your child to see, smell, taste, and explore one unique ingredient in a recipe your making.
During the week, ask your child to be involved in one or two steps of a recipe that you're making for dinner.
Invite your child's friend, who is an adventurous eater, for dinner and make their favorite meal.
Take your Small Fries on a farmer's market or (ethnic) grocery store field trip to explore seasonal and unique ingredients together. Don't know where your local farmer's market is in your area? Check here!
Let your child play with their food! Need inspo? Check out these great Instagram accounts for awesome sensory food play ideas! @playingatyourplate, @onmykidsplate, @easyhealthykids.
At mealtime, have you and your partner describe new foods to your Small Fries like "Tofu tastes like a salty, squishy Marshmellow ""Broccoli looks like tiny trees in a big forest!" "Shrimp Tempura makes a crunchy sound when you bite into the crust" "Olives taste like a puckery grape!" "Noodles are like slurpy little snakes". Need help describing your food? Check out my Four Senses Food Guide.
And, if you can't stand the mess, or just hate cooking send them to my Small Fry Cooking Classes here in Newport Beach! And if you just need a little inspo sent directly to your home, sign up for a monthly cooking club for kids like Little Sous which encourages kids to cook at home with fun and exciting recipe kits!
And, for a complete step-by-step guide to becoming your Small Fries best Mealtime Matchmaker, checkout my Picky to Persuadable Method or contact me for private consulting with your family! I know you and your family CAN do this!
